Protesting TUT students shut down campus

It’s day three of the second semester and Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in Pretoria remained closed. Students stopped and turned away any vehicle approaching the institution’s gate.

This was the second shutdown by students after they protested in March and demanded the university allow those owing fees of R150 000 or less to register. They also demanded accommodation.

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Student representative council (SRC) president Keamogetswe Masike led the protest at the main campus gate in Pretoria West and said TUT would be closed until students meet the minister.

“Nothing will happen here. No student or car is entering,” he said. “We have closed the gates of the university. eZaga was appointed to facilitate billions of rands of the poor and vulnerable students,” he said.

Masike said it was crazy that students still had outstanding debts at the beginning of the second semester.

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“Our demands are clear. We want to engage the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Blade Nzimande, to express our concerns to him. We also want to engage with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) CEO,” he said.

Masike said the new funds process was rushed.

“We have said on many occasions that the university must write a letter of exemption to Nzimande, asking that can the process be paused until everyone is informed about it,” he said.

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Masike said many students were at home because they haven’t received their meal allowances for June, July and August.

“We are not fighting the university, but putting pressure on the institution so that they can put pressure on Nzimande,” he said.

South African Student Congress branch chair Kagisho Sedikila said: “Why do we have a new system that is not working and taking students’ money?

“New students were being charged for transactions and money disappeared from their accounts. The app freezes which means students can’t have access to their money.”

Economic Freedom Fighters student council TUT Rand deputy chair Vongani Maluleke said they were not being taken seriously.

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“When we bring them information, they treat us like we are crazy, and that’s why we end up doing things like this,” he said.

Maluleke said they wanted to change the system to curb corruption but, instead, they brought in more contractors. SRC universal access officer Ntshovelo Maluleke represented the minority groups at the university.

“It’s within our constitutional right to call for things to be set right before the second semester commences,” he said.